News
Paradise Found at Small Hope Bay in Andros
Andros is a Bahamian island we had not visited on any of our previous trips and so we were looking forward to a new experience. We arrived at Small Hope Bay, a family run, (truly) eco-friendly all-inclusive resort that sits right on the beach overlooking the clear blue waters we would soon be diving into. Our early morning flights meant that we had time to meet the team, head to our rooms, set-up our camera equipment and then walk along the jetty to the dive centre to get ready for a day of diving. We only had one day of diving here, so we were determined to make the most of it.
Our three dives were to cover a wide range of types of diving. Our first dive was to visit the famous oceanic blue hole and we were to be led by Jeff Birch, the owner of the resort and a legend in the scuba diving world. The dive started off on a beautiful reef and then Jeff beckoned us towards a crack in the reef. We followed him down and suddenly we found ourselves within the blue hole, heading deep to enable us to look up at the “window” of the blue hole and watch the divers swim past in the blue.
All too soon it was time to start to head to shallower water, and Jeff led us up through a fissure in the reef back up to the coral, where we found a school of friendly batfish to play with as we carried out our safety stop. Andros is famous for its blue holes, with both oceanic and inland sites to explore and the Small Hope team offer a speciality in this type of diving.
Our second dive was a real treat, as we got to see the pioneering conservation work that Small Hope Bay are involved in. They have set-up a coral allotment on the seabed, where they are growing new coral to transplant onto the reef. Our group even got to try their hand at a bit of coral “gardening” by helping to clean off any algae. There was also time to explore the reef and enjoy the marine life such as turtles, angelfish and barracuda.
Our final dive saw us visit the famous wall off Andros. Here the reef plummets to huge depths. We kept to the top of the reef and peered down the wall, watching reef sharks cruise by. We got a taste of the incredible diving that Andros had to offer and we wished we had more time to further explore the island and its diving.
For a day off diving before our flight, our hosts at Small Hope offered us a tour of the island, allowing us to visit the inland blue holes, as well as visiting the batik fabric industry that the island is famous for. Our walks would find us following trails through woods full of medicinal plants, that would suddenly open up to reveal a beautiful blue hole. Many of the group took the chance to jump in and go for a swim and the braver ones took a dive off the high platforms!
Whilst our visit to Small Hope Bay was very short, we were immediately made to feel like family. The staff join you for nibbles and cocktails after a day of diving, and everyone sits around talking about their experiences of the day. The food was excellent with some of the best vegetarian food we have eaten in the Caribbean.
We wish we could have stayed for longer!
For more information please visit:
All images & text by Nick and Caroline Robertson-Brown of Frogfish Photography.
News
Dive Worldwide Announces Bite-Back as its Charity of the Year
Over the next 12 months, specialist scuba holiday company Dive Worldwide will be supporting Bite-Back Shark & Marine Conservation with donations collected from client bookings to any one of its stunning dive destinations around the world. The independently-owned operator expects to raise £3000 for the UK charity.
Manager at Dive Worldwide, Phil North, said: “We’re especially excited to work with Bite-Back and support its intelligent, creative and results-driven campaigns to end the UK trade in shark products and prompt a change in attitudes to the ocean’s most maligned inhabitant.”
Bite-Back is running campaigns to hold the media to account on the way it reports shark news along with a brand new nationwide education programme. Last year the charity was credited for spearheading a UK ban on the import and export of shark fins.
Campaign director at Bite-Back, Graham Buckingham, said: “We’re enormously grateful to Dive Worldwide for choosing to support Bite-Back. The company’s commitment to conservation helps set it apart from other tour operators and we’re certain its clients admire and respect that policy. For us, the affiliation is huge and helps us look to the future with confidence we can deliver against key conservation programmes.”
To launch the fundraising initiative, Phil North presented Graham Buckingham with a cheque for £1,000.
Visit Dive Worldwide to discover its diverse range of international scuba adventures and visit Bite-Back to learn more about the charity’s campaigns.
MORE INFORMATION
Call Graham Buckingham on 07810 454 266 or email graham@bite-back.com
Gear News
Scubapro Free Octopus Promotion 2024
Free Octopus with every purchase of a SCUBAPRO regulator system
Just in time for the spring season, divers can save money with the FREE OCTOPUS SPRING PROMOTION! Until July 31st SCUBAPRO offers an Octopus for free
with every purchase of a regulator system!
Get a free S270 OCTOPUS with purchase of these combinations:
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with A700
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with S620Ti
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with D420
MK25 EVO Din mit S620Ti-X
Get a free R105 OCTOPUS with purchase of the following combinations:
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with G260
MK25 EVO or MK17 EVO with S600
SCUBAPRO offers a 30-year first owner warranty on all regulators, with a revision period of two years or 100 dives. All SCUBAPRO regulators are of course certified according to the new European test standard EN250-2014.
Available at participating SCUBAPRO dealers. Promotion may not be available in all regions. Find an authorized SCUBAPRO Dealer at scubapro.com.
More information available on www.scubapro.com.
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